As a seven-year-old child recently relocated to Halifax, NS from Nigeria, Kolade Boboye ’22 joined Hope Blooms, a not-for-profit registered charity focused on food insecurity and youth leadership—through a unique gardening initiative. As he dug in the dirt, planting seeds in an abandoned lot in the Uniacke Square neighborhood, the seeds of a dream also started to take root.
Over a decade later, ready to attend university, ready to realize that dream, Mr. Boboye chose to attend StFX for two-reasons—it felt like a family, and he wanted to be an entrepreneur. He’d already been part of a youth entrepreneur delegation from Hope Blooms who’d successfully pitched CBC’s Dragons’ Den to expand an off shoot of their gardening efforts, their burgeoning fresh herb salad dressing business.
Since the start, Mr. Boboye’s entrepreneurial roots have been entwined with Hope Blooms. They continue to flourish there, where he is now the creative director. Like that early garden (still a mainstay), the north end Halifax organization has blossomed from its humble origins into five enterprises, each giving back to community.
As a leader there, he carries forward its ethos of generosity, of empowering the next generation of youth.
Mr. Boboye understands its impact. He remembers as a 10-year-old accompanying Hope Blooms founder Jessie Jollymore to meetings with the likes of the city mayor.
“It opened my mind. I saw how decisions are made. It was a unique experience, and I wanted more of it,” says Mr. Boboye, now 24.
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In November 2024, the StFX BBA marketing graduate (who incorporated his interest in policy and community building in his minor of political science and philosophy) returned to his alma mater to share entrepreneurial insights as a speaker on the Impact X Founders’ Panel.
“To speak and share my personal experience was amazing. I only graduated two years ago.”
“You can make money, and you can give back. Both of those can co-exist.”
- Kolade Boboye ’22, creative director, Hope Blooms
He says meeting student participants, who asked insightful questions, including advice he’d give them as a recent graduate, was a standout experience.
“There’s really not a secret answer or a code. There’s not really a shortcut,” Mr. Boboye says on his advice. “Build your foundation and learn, that helps you to get where you want to be.” Determination, passion, and curiosity also help.
Coming to StFX, he found fantastic networks and professors who wanted to help students succeed. “I wanted to be coachable, to learn to get better.”
At Hope Blooms, he says Ms. Jollymore really created a space, a playground for business, to allow people to fully think. “My boss is forward-thinking, and I love that. She has a long-term vision to build something and to give something back and build community.”
Also key? “To teach the youth to have a bigger commitment to the world than just themselves. You can make money, and you can give back. Both of those can co-exist.”
Community building is one reason he’s stayed involved with Hope Blooms. He didn’t even pause his association while at university, keeping connected and doing summer internships. “I benefitted from the program. I want to pass that on to others.”
As a Hope Bloom’s scholarship participant, he also knows the powerful impact that program has on youth.
Currently Hope Blooms operates five enterprises (from fair trade tea to fresh-burst lemonade) and proceeds from each are reinvested in education, in the community, in funding food programming and cross-cultural learning exchanges.
Their staple product, the fresh herb dressings, is available in all Atlantic Canada Superstores, at several local retailers, and at their flagship store/community kitchen on the Hope Blooms campus, home to the garden and greenhouse. All products are available on their website.
As creative director, Mr. Boboye spends his time in strategy, looking over reports and finances, seeing what’s working and what can be improved. He’s constantly tweaking, showcasing the brand, finding good alignments, helping with graphic design and managing the Loblaws account. He also teaches the youth some of the basics of business.
He likens his role to the person on a ship studying the stars, looking ahead, and making sure they can see any icebergs ahead. One could say it’s not unlike planting seeds for a better future.
